Improvement in railway-frogs



UNITED STATES PATENT I OFFICE.

JOSEPH woon, on RED BANK, NEW JERSEY.

IMPROVEMENT IN RAlLWAY-FROGS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 140,332, dated June 24,1873; application filed May 14, 1873. v

To all whom itm-ay concern:

Be it known that I, JOSEPH WOOD, of Red Bank, in the county of Monmouthand State of New Jersey, have invented certain new andusefulImprovements in Railroad-Frogs and I do hereby declare the following tobe a full and clear description of the same, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a cross-section through thepoint of a railroad-frog at x w, Figs. 2 and 3. Fig. 2 is a side View ofthe point of a frog; and Fig. 3 is a top View of the same, showing theweb of the rails by dotted lines, and the strengthening-plates in dottedhatched lines.

My invention consists in strengthening the point or tongue of arailroad-frog, so as to prevent fracture from the concussion and straincaused by passing wheels.

In the construction of the point of a railroad frog, where two separaterails are brought together for that purpose, it is necessary to cut awayon one side of the main rail the greater portion of the crown and bottomflange, so as to admit of notching in or splicing on the other rail ofthe point. By so cutting away the crown and flange of this main rail, itis materially weakened and very liable to become fractured at that partfrom the strain or concussion occasioned by the wheels passing throughthe frog.

In order to overcome this difficulty, I brace and strengthen this weakpart of the main rail by placing a plate of iron or steel on each sideof its web, where the flange and crown are so cut away; one of suchplates being on the outside of the main rail, and the other plateextending between the webs of the twopoint rails. The rails are thenfastened together in the usual manner, with bolts 0r rivets, which willalso pass through the plates,

the plate between the rails filling up the vacant space between theirwebs, as shown by the dotted hatched lines in Fig. 3.

In the drawing, A and B represent the two rails which form the point ofthe frog, A being designated as the main rail. 0 O are two iron or steelplates placed one on each side of the main rail A, at the point whereits crown and bottom flange are cut away to make the junction with therail B. D D are rivets, which pass through the plates 0 O and .the webof the rail A, and hold them all firmly together. The plates (3 (3 maybe of any desired length, but always long enough to admit of beingriveted at points sufliciently distant on each side of the weak part ofthe rail A not to increase its weakness.

I am aware that plates have been used on the outside of both pointrails, at their junction, to answer the purpose of fish-plates; but: Iuse these plates on each side of the web of the main rail only, so as tosupply strength to such rail where its crown and flange are cut away,and to till up the vacant space left be tween the webs of the two rails,thereby pre' senting a solid bearing for the webs of both the rails attheir junction witheach other:

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

A railroad-frog having the main rail of the point or tongue strengthenedby the use of plates of iron or steel placed on each side of it, andriveted to the web thereof at the part where its crown and flange arecut away for the purpose of splicing on the other point rail,substantially as shown and described.

JOSEPH WOOD. Witnesses:

HAL. ALLAIRE, A. B. MALooMsoN, Jr.

